Honda launches Taffeta White City with Get on the Rock! Together with Honda City campaign

Published on November 9th, 2010

THE color White has become quite a popular and likeable color for a car over the last couple of years, so much so, many have referred to the color white, be it in any shade, as the new ‘in color’, or the new Black, replacing the color Black as the new color of choice to coat one’s car in. Honda’s renowned performance model, the Honda Civic Type-R, was a hit with discerning Malaysians who could afford it even though in came in only one color, Championship White. The Honda Civic Type-R stood out from the crowd of Civics that are abundant on Malaysian roads partly because of It’s Championship White color, which also gave it part of It’s unique character and stance, apart from It’s obvious performance prowess.

Honda Malaysia Sdn Bhd (“Honda Malaysia” or the “Company” as it is supposedly known) very recently announced that the 3rd Generation City has been made even more attractive with the addition of the ‘pleasing-on-the-eyes’ Taffeta White variant, a new color that is set to hit the road from now onwards. Following the launch, there are now four (4) colors on the City’s color palette, in addition to Alabaster Silver, Polished Metal and Crystal Black Pearl.

Honda Malaysia fondly and proudly refers to its entry level B-Segment car as a complete package of Style, Performance, Practicality and Best-in-class features, the City is available in two grades, Grade E and Grade S, selling at RM 90,480 and RM 85,480 respectively, which according to Honda Malaysia, offers the best value package for its future prospective customers.

Since its launch almost two years ago back in December 2008, the 3rd Generation City has sold an impressive figure of more than 36,000 units. Following the launch of the City in Taffeta White, the ‘Company’ targets to sell 1,700 units of City per month while Taffeta White is expected to contribute approximately 40% to the monthly target, which is not too far fetched a target, as the City has been quite a popular model and a success story for the ‘Company’, notably since the introduction of the second generation seven years ago back in 2003.

In conjunction with the introduction of the new color, Honda Malaysia has cunningly taken the opportunity to promote the notions of ‘advancement in life’, which is inspired by an internal customer profile study that was conducted recently. According to the study, more than 50% of the 3rd Generation Honda City owners considered their purchase decision as ‘a part of progression in life’, which makes us, the Traffic crew wonder, does this mean we haven’t progressed in life because none of us have purchased a Honda City, be it the second or current third generation? It’s a question and point to ponder upon.

Following this rather startling discovery, the ‘Company’ simultaneously kicked-off a rock climbing competition, aptly themed ‘Get on the rock!’ with the popular and sellable Honda City, a month-long rock climbing competition that is in support of ‘advancement in life’, which is inspired by the ‘Company’s’ take and view of the Honda City’s supposed four standout qualities: Performance, Style, Practicality and Best-in-class.

Honda Malaysia has sought to use this popular physical sport as a channel to reflect the quality attitudes required to advance and progress in life, as rock climbing requires coordination between strength and strategy. What is more subtly required in the pursuit is determination, and the sheer mental strength that underpins one’s success in a climb.

“We are pleased to learn that existing City owners decided on the City with such emotional motivation and consider it a choice ride that marks their change in life,” said a warm, humble and friendly Rohime Shafie, President and Chief Operating Officer of Honda Malaysia in his short and sweet speech during the launch.

He later added, “On behalf of Honda Malaysia, we would like to thank our loyal Honda City customers for their continued trust and support in our products. For those who choose the Honda City to mark their change in life, the ‘Company’ is indeed honored to be able to be a part of their growth and development in life, a transition of sorts. With the new Taffeta White color choice, we hope to be able to provide our loyal customers with more choices, as they move on to a higher level in life.”

The month-long rock climbing competition consists of two categories targeting participants aged 21 years and above: Open and Pro Climber. By definition, the Open category targets anyone, even the non-climbers, in a team of two (2). The Pro Climber category targets climbers with climbing experience rated Grade 6c, a French Numerical climb rating system with 1 being the easiest and 9b being the most difficult.

The registration period is open from now onwards until December 7. Participants for the Open category are required to submit one (1) climbing photo shot that best interprets one of Honda City’s unique qualities: Style, Performance, Practicality and Best-in-class, whereas participants from the Pro Climber category will need to submit four (4) photo shots that truly reflect all City’s qualities.

The submission will be evaluated via an online public voting system, where 25 teams from Open category and 20 competitors from Pro Climber category will be short-listed. The final showdown between the short-listed competitors is scheduled to take place on December 18 at Camp5, Asia’s premier indoor climbing gym, located in the New Wing of One Utama Shopping Centre.

During the final showdown, the team from the Open category that climbs the most mileage in 2 hours stands to win an adventure-filled climbing trip on the limestone cliff in Krabi, Thailand worth RM3,500 along with a 1-year membership in Camp5.

The winner from the Pro Climber category, on the other hand would get a chance to meet with Reini Scherer, one of the world’s best and renowned climbing champions, in a climbing clinic in Austria worth RM13,000 in addition to a RM2,000 cash prize. This climbing clinic is a dream for many pro climbers who crave to learn from the best and wish or hope to advance and better their climbing skills.

More details and mechanics of the Get On The Rock! with the Honda City are clearly outlined on www.facebook.com/hondacity. Register and participate now to advance in life with Honda City! For more information and enquiries about the Honda City, call Honda’s Toll Free number at 1-800-88-2020, or log on to www.honda.com.my for more details.

words: Honda pix: Azdee Amir

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